Nairobi homeowners no longer need county approval to carry out minor building repairs, after Governor Johnson Sakaja waived the application and permit process ahead of the anticipated El Niño rains. Speaking on September 23, 2026, during an inspection of flood-preparedness works in Ruai, Sakaja said residents can now install gutters and carry out other minor repairs to their houses and compounds without going through Nairobi City County’s usual urban-planning approval process, which normally takes weeks and costs several thousand shillings.
What Qualifies as a “Minor Repair” Under Sakaja’s Waiver?
“I have waived the application and approval processes for minor building repairs in Nairobi from now until the onset of the El Niño rains,” Sakaja said. “This will give our people an opportunity to put up gutters and undertake minor repairs to their houses and compounds as they prepare for the coming rains.”
The governor named gutter installation specifically, alongside general repairs to houses and compounds. County officials have not published a formal itemized list of what counts as “minor,” so the safest reading is maintenance-type work — gutters, roof patch-ups, boundary walls, drainage fixes on an existing structure. Larger jobs — adding a floor, structural alterations, new construction — still fall under the standard urban-planning approval process and are not covered by this waiver.
How Much Does the Waiver Actually Save?
A minor building repair or renovation permit in Nairobi ordinarily costs between KES 4,000 and KES 10,000, depending on the scope of the work, according to county figures cited alongside the announcement. For a homeowner simply fitting gutters or patching a roof before the rains, that’s the direct cost the waiver removes — on top of the time saved from not waiting on an approval that can otherwise take weeks.
How Long Does the Waiver Last?
Sakaja’s directive runs “from now until the onset of the El Niño rains,” with no fixed calendar end-date; he said he had instructed the County Secretary to issue formal written communication on the waiver. That makes the window tighter than it sounds. Kenya’s Meteorological Department has put the probability of above-normal rainfall between October and December 2026 at 99 percent, with the strongest wet signal expected in October and November and some counties already forecast to see onset from the second week of October. Homeowners planning to use the waiver should treat late September as the practical deadline, not October.
What Else Is Nairobi Doing to Prepare?
The permit waiver is one piece of a wider push. Nairobi County has rolled out a Sh2.4 billion flood-mitigation programme covering the desilting, widening and deepening of drainage channels and rivers, and is running preparedness under a “One County, One Plan, One Command” structure that pulls in the Kenya Urban Roads Authority, Kenya National Highways Authority, Kenya Rural Roads Authority, Kenya Red Cross and the Nairobi Rivers Commission.
- An Emergency Operations Centre and a dedicated hotline, 1508, are live for residents to report flooding and other emergencies.
- The county has identified 27 drop-off points and shelters for use if evacuations become necessary.
- A four-day multi-agency simulation exercise is planned later this month to test the city’s emergency response.
- Sakaja also warned that officers had found mattresses, blankets and plastics dumped in waterways, blocking stormwater flow, and said private waste collectors caught dumping in open spaces risk having their licences withdrawn permanently.
Nairobi’s drainage struggles are not new — the city has repeatedly seen heavy rains overwhelm its streets, and county hall’s broader traffic and infrastructure fixes, including Sakaja’s Sh1 trillion infrastructure plan, are being pitched partly as flood resilience as much as congestion relief.
Does This Affect Nairobi’s Deadline for Unauthorized Structures?
No — and it’s worth keeping the two policies separate. Sakaja has separately given Nairobi property owners until December 31, 2026 to regularize unauthorized developments that were built without proper county approval. This week’s waiver is different: it applies to minor maintenance-style repairs on already-authorized structures, not a route to legalize illegal construction. A homeowner with an unpermitted extension still needs to go through the regularization process by year-end regardless of the repair waiver.
Nairobi sits among the counties flagged as most exposed this rainy season — it appears on the list of Kenya’s 18 high-risk flood counties for the 2026 El Niño season, which is part of why City Hall is moving on both fronts — drainage infrastructure and making it easier for residents to weatherproof their own homes — at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to apply for anything to install gutters in Nairobi right now?
No. Governor Sakaja’s September 23 directive waives the application and approval process for minor repairs, including gutter installation, until the El Niño rains begin.
How much would this permit normally have cost me?
Between KES 4,000 and KES 10,000, depending on the scope of the repair, according to county figures.
When exactly does the waiver end?
The county has not set a fixed date — it runs “until the onset” of the rains. With Kenya’s Met Department expecting rains to intensify from October, the practical window is likely only a few weeks.
Does the waiver cover major renovations or new construction?
No. It is specifically for minor repairs and maintenance. Larger structural work still requires the standard Nairobi County urban-planning approval process.
What if my property already has unauthorized structures?
That falls under a separate process. Nairobi property owners have until December 31, 2026 to regularize unauthorized developments; this repair waiver does not substitute for that requirement.
By the 254.ke Newsroom
Also worth a read: El Niño 2026: How Kenyan NGOs Should Prepare Now — from ngos.ke, part of the NGO Summit media network.
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